Week 9 Positional Rankings

Guys, the playoffs for fantasy football are right around the corner. In just five weeks we will be in our final week and likely maneuvering for our spots in the playoffs. However, the big news that came down yesterday was that it was the NFL trade deadline day. We saw multiple moves, but the two biggest for fantasy were Golden Tate going from Detroit to Philadelphia and Demaryius Thomas leaving Denver for Houston.

While only two moves, it has opened up many more possibilities for fantasy on both teams. Much like last week, we have multiple good matchups this week, and should have a lot of great fantasy players come through this week. We also have six teams on a bye this week the most we have seen so far this season. The Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles will all be sitting this week. With so many key starters having to sit on our benches this week, check out my ranks below to help set your best lineup. Also if you guys have time check out our podcast on iTunes and Spotify Fantasy Football Roundtable. As always may the fantasy gods grant you a crucial win in Week 9.

Quarterbacks

With three fantasy stars sitting on the bench this week QB is going to get a little risky at the bottom. Yet we still have multiple great matchups this week and should see some great games. My pick outside the Top 12 that could jump up this week is Mitch Trubisky.

1. Cam Newton- 26.9
2. Aaron Rodgers- 26.7
3. Tom Brady- 26.2
4. Patrick Mahomes- 25.9
5. Kirk Cousins- 25.5
6. Matt Ryan- 24.7
7. Jared Goff- 23.8
8. Ben Roethlisberger- 23.6
9. Deshaun Watson- 23.3
10. Ryan Fitzpatrick- 23.0
11. Russel Wilson- 22.8
12. Philip Rivers- 22.7
13. Drew Brees- 22.2
14. Matthew Stafford- 22.0
15. Baker Mayfield- 21.8
16. Mitch Trubisky- 21.8
17. Joe Flacco- 20.9
18. Dak Prescott- 20.6
19. Derek Carr- 20.1
20. Case Keenum- 20.1
21. Marcus Mariota- 19.7
22. Brock Osweiler- 19.4
23. Sam Darnold- 17.4
24. Alex Smith- 17.0
25. Nick Mullens- 15.2

Running Backs

So Todd Gurley continues to be an offensive force, scoring more touchdowns than some teams have scored all season. James Conner continues to show us why the Steelers don’t really need Le’Veon Bell, who still hasn’t shown up to practice yet. Hopefully this is the first week we will get to see Aaron Jones take control of the Packers backfield with Ty Montgomery being traded. Royce Freeman is likely going to miss again this week, so Phillip Lindsay should continue to get the bulk of the work. This is going to be a rough week at RB as outside of my Top 24 everyone starts to get a little scary. My pick outside the Top 12 who could jump into it this week is Phillip Lindsay.

1. Todd Gurley- 23.2
2. Alvin Kamara- 22.7
3. James Conner- 22.1
4. Kareem Hunt- 21.6
5. Christian McCaffrey- 20.6
6. Ezekiel Elliot- 20.3
7. James White- 19.8
8. Melvin Gordon- 19.3
9. Kenyan Drake- 18.6
10. Kerryon Johnson- 18.5
11. Latavius Murray- 17.3
12. Mark Ingram- 16.3
13. Dion Lewis- 15.8
14. Phillip Lindsay- 15.7
15. Chris Carson- 15.4
16. Adrian Peterson- 15.3
17. Tarik Cohen- 15.0
18. Nick Chubb- 14.8
19. Lamar Miller- 14.7
20. Aaron Jones- 14.7
21. Jordan Howard- 14.3
22. Tevin Coleman- 14.1
23. Sony Michel- 14.1
24. Austin Ekeler- 13.8
25. Peyton Barber- 13.8
26. Doug Martin- 13.6
27. LeSean McCoy- 13.3
28. Alex Collins- 13.0
29. Jalen Richard- 13.0
30. Isaiah Crowell- 12.7
31. Frank Gore- 12.4
32. Raheem Mostert- 10.3
33. Matt Breida- 10.1
34. Ito Smith- 10.0
35. Duke Johnson, Jr.- 9.5
36. Jamaal Williams- 9.3
37. Devontae Booker- 9.0
38. Chris Thompson- 8.8
39. Chris Ivory- 8.5
40. LeGarrette Blount- 8.4
41. Mike Davis- 8.1
42. Javorius Allen- 7.1
43. Trenton Cannon- 6.3
44. Alfred Morris- 6.0
45. Alfred Blue- 5.9
46. Kari Bibbs- 5.7
47. Spencer Ware- 5.5
48. Jacquizz Rodgers- 5.0
49. Kyle Juszczyk- 5.0
50. Kenjon Barner- 4.8

Wide Receivers

The two trades at WR yesterday really changed things for fantasy. Tate brings a legitimate threat into the slot WR role to Philly. He should continue to prosper here with a stud QB in Wentz once they return from a bye. Thomas going to Houston could help both DeAndre Hopkins and himself. With an absolute stud on the other side of him, Thomas can now focus on being a No. 2 threat, which I think he's more suited for at this point. It also means teams won’t be able to shift coverage to Hopkins all the time. Courtland Sutton should emerge now as a fantasy league winner in Denver now with Thomas gone. Sutton has flashed the past few weeks being the third option there, now he is the No. 2 and has some serious explosiveness. As for the Lions with Tate gone it should boost the targets both Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay get and T.J. Jones should move into the vacated slot. My pick outside the Top 12 that could jump up this week is Cooper Kupp.

1. Adam Thielen- 23.3
2. Davante Adams- 23.1
3. DeAndre Hopkins- 22.9
4. Michael Thomas- 22.7
5. Antonio Brown- 21.9
6. Emmanuel Sanders- 21.7
7. Julio Jones- 21.0
8. Robert Woods- 19.7
9. Julian Edelman- 19.5
10. Tyreek Hill- 19.2
11. Stefon Diggs- 19.0
12. JuJu Smith-Schuster- 18.6
13. Keenan Allen- 18.4
14. Mike Evans- 18.3
15. Cooper Kupp- 18.0
16. Josh Gordon- 17.6
17. Jarvis Landry- 17.5
18. John Brown- 17.3
19. Brandin Cooks- 16.8
20. Marvin Jones, Jr.- 16.2
21. D.J. Moore- 15.7
22. Courtland Sutton- 15.3
23. Devin Funchess- 15.0
24. Sammy Watkins- 14.8
25. Kenny Golladay- 14.7
26. Danny Amendola- 14.5
27. Michael Crabtree- 13.9
28. DeVante Parker- 13.5
29. Calvin Ridley- 13.3
30. Doug Baldwin- 13.0
31. DeSean Jackson- 12.8
32. Corey Davis- 12.7
33. Tre’Quan Smith- 12.5
34. Tyler Lockett- 12.0
35. Chris Godwin- 11.7
36. Randall Cobb- 11.4
37. Mohamed Sanu- 11.2
38. Chris Hogan- 11.0
39. Tyrell Williams- 11.0
40. Jalen Grant- 10.8
41. Paul Richardson- 10.6
42. Taylor Gabriel- 10.3
43. Cole Beasley- 10.0
44. Willie Snead- 9.9
45. Michael Gallup- 9.6
46. Marquise Goodwin- 9.6
47. Josh Doctson- 9.4
48. Kendrick Bourne- 9.2
49. Antonio Callaway- 9.0
50. Demaryius Thomas- 9.0

Tight End

So I feel like I say this every week, and I probably do. Tight end looks really bad this week. The top tight end in Zach Ertz and a great option in Evan Engram are both on a bye. Then you have the two headed monster in Indy, Jack Doyle and Eric Ebron are both on a bye as well. I’m not going to lie guys outside the Top 13 I don’t feel good about anyone this week. My pick outside the Top 12 that could jump up this week is Mark Andrews.

1. Travis Kelce- 14.7
2. O.J. Howard- 13.3
3. Austin Hooper- 13.0
4. Jimmy Graham- 13.0
5. Rob Gronkowski- 12.8
6. George Kittle- 12.5
7. David Njoku- 12.0
8. Greg Olsen- 11.7
9. Trey Burton- 11.3
10. Kyle Rudolph- 11.0
11. Vance McDonald- 10.5
12. Chris Herndon- 10.3
13. Jared Cook- 10.3
14. Benjamin Watson- 9.7
15. Mark Andrews- 9.5
16. Jordan Reed- 9.0
17. Cameron Brate- 8.7
18. Hayden Hurst- 8.3
19. Jeff Heuerman- 8.0
20. Michael Roberts- 7.4
21. Charles Clay- 6.9
22. Jordan Thomas- 6.1
23. Ed Dickson- 5.8
24. Nick Vannett- 5.5
25. Mike Gesicki- 5.0

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